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.TH STRINGS 1 "June 13, 2021"
.SH NAME
strings \- find printable strings in an object or binary file
.SH SYNOPSIS
.nf
\fBstrings\fR [\fB-a\fR | \fB-\fR]
     [\fB-t\fR \fIformat\fR | \fB-o\fR] [\fB-n\fR \fInumber\fR | \fB-number\fR]  [\fB-N\fR \fIname\fR]  [\fIfile\fR]...
.fi

.SH DESCRIPTION
The \fBstrings\fR utility looks for \fBASCII\fR strings in a binary file. A
string is any sequence of 4 or more printing characters ending with a NEWLINE
or a \fBNULL\fR character.
.sp
.LP
\fBstrings\fR is useful for identifying random object files and many other
things.
.sp
.LP
By default, strings looks at program sections that are loaded in memory.
Program sections are identified by the section type \fBSHT_PROGBITS\fR.
Sections that are loaded in memory are identified by the section flag
\fBSHF_ALLOC\fR. Use \fBelfdump\fR(1)  to display complete section information
for a file.
.sp
.LP
All sections can be inspected with the \fB-a\fR option. Individual sections can
be inspected with the \fB-N\fR option.
.SH OPTIONS
The following options are supported:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fB-a\fR | \fB\(mi\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 23n
Look everywhere in the file for strings.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fB-n\fR \fInumber\fR \fB|\fR \fB-\fR\fInumber\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 23n
Use a \fInumber\fR as the minimum string length rather than the default, which
is \fB4\fR.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fB-N\fR \fIname\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 23n
Look only in ELF section name. See \fBelfdump\fR(1). Multiple \fB-N\fR options
can be specified to inspect multiple sections.
.sp
If the \fB-a\fR or \fB-\fR option is specified, all \fB-N\fR options are
ignored .
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fB-o\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 23n
Equivalent to \fB\fR\fB-t\fR \fBd\fR option.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fB-t\fR \fBformat\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 23n
Write each string preceded by its byte offset from the start of the file. The
format is dependent on the single character used as the \fIformat\fR
option-argument:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBd\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 5n
The offset is written in decimal.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBo\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 5n
The offset is written in octal.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fBx\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 5n
The offset is written in hexadecimal.
.RE

.RE

.SH OPERANDS
The following operand is supported:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fB\fIfile\fR\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 8n
A path name of a regular file to be used as input. If no \fIfile\fR operand is
specified, the \fBstrings\fR utility reads from the standard input.
.RE

.SH ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
See \fBenviron\fR(7) for descriptions of the following environment variables
that affect the execution of \fBstrings\fR: \fBLANG\fR, \fBLC_ALL\fR,
\fBLC_CTYPE\fR, \fBLC_MESSAGES\fR, and \fBNLSPATH\fR.
.SH EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are returned:
.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fB0\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 6n
Successful completion.
.RE

.sp
.ne 2
.na
\fB\fB>0\fR\fR
.ad
.RS 6n
An error occurred.
.RE

.SH ATTRIBUTES
See \fBattributes\fR(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:
.sp

.sp
.TS
box;
c | c
l | l .
ATTRIBUTE TYPE	ATTRIBUTE VALUE
_
CSI	Enabled
_
Interface Stability	See below.
.TE

.sp
.LP
The \fBstrings\fR utility, including all options except \fB-N\fR, are specified
by standards. See \fBstandards\fR(7). The \fB-N\fR option is not currently
specified by any standard.
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR elfdump (1),
.BR od (1),
.BR attributes (7),
.BR environ (7),
.BR standards (7)
.SH NOTES
The algorithm for identifying strings is extremely primitive.
.sp
.LP
For backwards compatibility, the options \fB-a\fR and \fB\(mi\fR are
interchangeable.
